Educating Interest Groups for Political Action

Extension is increasingly having to deal with special interest groups in agriculture as these groups seek support and action on various issues.These groups have learned that appealing to politicians is insufficient.They must also garner support within the public service sector to achieve desired outcomes in the policy setting arena.Extension staff face the challenge of educating interest groups in the functioning of government and the policy-making process without seeming to create problems for our political masters to resolve.This article first discusses this challenge by examining the initiation and implementation of an agricultural drainage program in Manitoba.Then, we present some guidelines on how Extension workers can operate in such politically difficult situations.